Oklahoma State University Athletics
OSU Track Heads to NCAA Indoor Championships
March 07, 2012 | Cowboy Cross Country & Track
March 7, 2012
STILLWATER, Okla. - The Oklahoma State track and field program will have six representatives at the NCAA Indoor Track and Field Championships, which will be hosted by Boise State at the Jackson Indoor Track in Nampa, Idaho, on March 9 and 10.
Sophomore Natalja Piliusina is the lone representative for the women, and she will compete in the 800 meter run. The preliminary race is slated for 7:15 p.m. on Friday, while the final race is set to begin at 7:45 p.m. on Saturday. Piliusina owns the top 800 meter time in the NCAA season of 2:03.46, which she set at the Alex Wilson Invitational last weekend. The time also stands as the OSU record.
For the men, junior Raul Botezan and sophomore Kirubel Erassa will compete in the one mile run. The preliminary race is set for Friday at 5:15 p.m., with the final race scheduled for 6:15 p.m. on Saturday. Erassa has the 16th-best mile time nationally (3:58.84) and Botezan checks in at No. 17 (3:58.94). Those times rank as the second and third-best times respectively at OSU.
Junior Tom Farrell will compete in the 3,000 meters, which is set to begin at 7:55 p.m. on Saturday. He set the No. 16 3K time nationally with his 7:52.38 at the Razorback Invitational. That time is also the third-best effort in OSU history.
Sophomore Shadrack Kipchirchir and junior Girma Mecheso will run in the 5,000-meter race, which is slated for 8:05 p.m. on Friday. Kipchirchir holds the No. 12 nationally (13:46.00) and Mecheso owns the No. 18 time (13:50.03). Those times stand as the second and third-best 5,000 meter marks in the OSU record book.
Last year at the indoor championships, the women's distance medley relay team of Piliusina, current Cowgirl Mihaela Bobos and former Cowgirls Mihaela Susa and Brandi Andrews finished fifth to earn first-team All-America honors. Farrell finished 16th in the 3,000 meters to be named a second-team All-American.
